Social Media Marketing - how to Get the Most from the Various Platforms to Promote Your Florida Business

Get ready to grow your Florida Business in 2020

By

Patti Jewel

So you want to start using social media more and marketing your Florida brand through the various platforms? You probably see facebook ads showing from "gurus" who claim to have the secret, or telling you that the one platform they specialize in is all you need and buy their subscription to learn more, right! But don't be fooled. Truthfully, most businesses should be on at least 3 of the top 6 social media platforms regularly. The top 6 are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, and Twitter. And depending on your business type, consider Snapchat and TikTok.

How do you go about using these social media platforms for marketing your Florida Business?

First, choose the platforms that are most important to you and start posting regularly. See How to Manage Your Social Media Posts for details on where and when to post for your type of business.

Engage 3 times a day minimum... like, comment, follow, message, and be active.

Consider running a social media marketing campaign to boost one of your posts and drive more viewers to see you.

How do you determine which social media platforms you should focus on for your Florida business?

Know Your Audience

The Pew Research Center put out this great graphic of usage on the various platforms by demographic. Stay on top of these types of surveys and data each year so you can be sure to put your time and/or money where it will be most cost effective for the audience you are trying to reach.

Here's a Breakdown of Each Social Media Platform

Be sure to assess your resources and time management before jumping on board with too many. Don't start running social media instead of your business! And consider outside help from an expert.

Facebook

Who doesn't have a facebook account? Ok, I know that there are people who don't, but according to the Pew Research, 69% of you do. And Florida is one of the top states for number of people on Facebook. (see graph) This is a big audience if you can get in front of them.

To get the most from Facebook, post every article you write for your website or as a guest blogger on another website. Share tips and information about your company. Join groups that you have interest in and business groups related to your industry or business in general.

Keep in mind that Facebook's new algorithms are projected on only show your posts to less then 1% of your followers. There are 2 solutions to reach more people on Facebook. First, post more often, 5-8 times a day is recommended. However, for those who select to prioritize you, they may see more than they want. So be sure to post some unique fun stuff throughout the day for multiple posts.

YouTube

#1 for a reason. Everyone loves videos. So what does this tell you? Add video content to youtube and share on other social media and your website. For some businesses like HoopBrothers.com, who creates player highlight videos for college recruiting, YouTube is an obvious platform. But since most businesses are not in business to make videos, it can be a real challenge to keep up with posting videos.

Every business should be creating videos and posting to Youtube

Even for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups, YouTube is a place where you should be creating content. And it's another Google owned property that helps google rank you. Find something to record and just do it!

Linkedin

Yes, this is a professional networking site that leans toward professionals and their resumes, but it is a great place to promote what you are working on in your business and to find others who may need your products or services.

To get the most from Linkedin, build a great personal profile. If you are the owner, manager, or marketing professional for a company, let everyone know. Be professionally personal, meaning share lots of information about who you are as a professional in your field. Share your skills, special talents, and uniqueness. Share information about your Florida location because people look for other professionals close in proximity to them. Then link to your business page where you can share updates about your business. You'd be surprised how many people are using Linkedin to search for businesses these days.

Instagram

My favorite because I have always been a photographer at heart, who isn't? And like so many others, I love to see great images and learn about a business through the visual aspects. In Florida, there were over 5.8M Instagram users in 2016 (2016 stat) and over 25 million businesses (2017). Instagram is growing fast for businesses because of this but it does have some limitations.

How to get the most from Instagram?

No one wants to see just a bunch of pictures of the eyeglasses you sell, so you have to think outside the box and build your instagram with personality. Any business can do it, even a dentist! Of course no one wants to see pictures of teeth, but smiles of all kinds sure do get a lot of likes. Build your company's personality through pictures.

Twitter

Most people use twitter as a source of news; to follow a celebrity, athlete, politician or other public figure; or to follow your favorite restaurant or shopping locale to keep an eye out for great deals.

To get the most from Twitter, keep your clients updated with daily or weekly news, sales or events. If you sell a product, a flash sale can be one way to get a quick response. You can post articles or news from your website, but consider additional tweets that are quick and informative. Retweet interesting related news, and engage with others.

Pinterest

Who knew? Pinterest for business is quite popular. It is a great platform to showcase graphical images of what you do.

To get the most from Pinterest, you need to have some graphic abilities. Create infographs about things you know, things your business does, and tips for your clients. For example, if you provide pool service, a top 10 infograph on "how to keep your pool clean between visits" will bring in followers and views. Note that there are more women than men using Pinterest, so consider that when creating.

Snapchat

For all of you who are not under the age of 30, you may be thinking, What? Snapchat for business? Snapchat has become extremely popular and is replacing some other forms of media among friends who share information. And those who use snapchat love to follow businesses who engage and create content that they are interested in.

Snapchat is a great place to be if you have time and something exciting to showcase. It is a great "behind the scenes" platform that draws in followers for certain events.